I finally started to feel fully rested on Friday morning. I wasn't feeling nervous, I knew I'd put in the work. Reading Paul's 2007 St. George report stoked the flames. I was ready!
I woke up at 4:15, ate my oatmeal and yogurt and road the shuttle to the bus. I hopped a bus around 4:50 and road up next to a neighbor (Rus Southwick). The starting line was chilly and windy. I walked over to the porta-potties and took care of business. I met up with Brandon, Matt, Zak and Fritz. Despite the discomfort at the start everyone knew we couldn't have asked for more ideal conditions for the race.
I decided sometime earlier in the week to start out with Scott, so I stuck to that. We lined up next to an amazing line of talented runners. It was humbling.
We took it out pretty easy, more so than planned. Everyone did. Scott and I made up the chase pack, running behind Matt, John, Iain and Zak for the first 7 miles. After a few 5:teen miles coming into Veyo I decided to let Scott go up Veyo. I ran an even effort up Veyo but without Scott to pull me along I backed it off more than I thought through Dameron. My left quad tightened up a little after Veyo but otherwise I felt strong.
Splits for the first half:
5:44.6, 5:39.7, 5:17.1, 5:14.3, 5:26.2, 5:13.6, 5:15.8, 6:07.8, 6:01.9, 5:50.5, 6:10.7, 5:55.5, 5:33.8 (1:14:05 half)
Logan and Dave caught me around 12 and I picked it up a tad to run with them. We went down Snows at a fairly conservative clip (around 5:25). I was feeling good and starting to get ansy.
We came to the hill after 18 at about the same pace. We slowed a little on the way up and the hill didn't phase me a bit. That was all the green-light I needed. At the crest I started a push. I was feeling strong. The next few miles blinked by. At 23 I caught up to Matt. This was my least favorite part of the race. He was hurting. I pushed on. I started to tire at 25 but was able to hold pace through the end.
Splits for the 2nd half:
5:55.5, 5:33.8, 5:34.1, 5:28.8, 5:19.3, 5:30.6, 5:26.7, 5:42.9, 5:25.4, 5:09.9, 5:22.9, 5:23.0, 5:22.6, 5:30.4, 5:25.3, 1:09.0
(1:11:15 2nd half), 2:51 reverse split, 33:21 last 10K.
The finish line and awards ceremony were a party. St. George is kind enough to do the top ten thing, which I barely squeezed into. It made me feel like one of the fast guys.
The past year has been a wild ride. I could never have done it without the 5am crew. Countless mornings pounding out the miles with those guys dragging me along. I'm very grateful.
Many others had outstanding performances today. It was so fun to watch everyone come through after all the hard work. I'm looking forward to what the future brings, enjoying every step of the way.
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